bmi diamond club - Volunteer for earlier flight?

I am booked on BD060 this Sunday from LHR at 16:25 to EDI. Seats on the flight are no longer available for sale -- I assume this means the flight is oversold?

I am connecting from a Virgin flight that arrives in LHR earlier that day on a separate ticket. Once I get to LHR, would I be able to standby for an earlier flight to EDI on BA if my BD flight is indeed overbooked? Where would I go in LHR to make such a request, if it's possible?

Thank you.

European airlines typically don't allow you to travel on any service other than the flight for which you hold a confirmed reservation.

However, if your flight is indeed oversold, then they may be open to your suggestion.

Your Virgin Atlantic flight will arrive at T3, and you will have to make your way to Terminal 1. If you've luggage to collect then you will have to collect it and make the transfer landside - and could ask at the bmi checkin desks in T1. If your luggage is checked through by VS, I think this would disqualify you from travelling on a different BD flight than the one your luggage is scheduled to travel on. If you don't have luggage and can therefore transfer airside, I'm not sure where you could make such a request (look out for a bmi transfer desk)

EDIT: having just done a trial one-way booking from LHR to EDI on flybmi.com (which now redirects you to ba.com for this route) for next Sunday, 1 July, neither your flight, nor the two earlier bmi flights that day, are offered - so if your flight is full, it looks like the two earlier ones are, as well.

The only bmi flight that looks like it still has seats is the 19:00 so I would then expect all the earlier ones to be full/overbooked. You can ask nicely but I would not hold out much hope.
Good luck

Agree it's worth a shot although as others have said if your bags are checked right through then it's not going to happen. I don't 100% believe some of the bmi flight availability on the BA website - it sometimes got rid of entire flights than then reappeared a week or so later, so I think it's still worth asking regardless. Let us know how you get on!